The present invention relates to a method for the production of nonevaporable ternary gettering alloys.
Ternary gettering alloys are already known, for example from British Pat. No. 1,370,208 where specific reference is made to alloys based on zirconium Zr-Ti-Ni and to is usefulness in applications in which it is necessary to stoichiometrically sorb humidity or water vapour, as well as other gases, without liberating hydrogen.
In a recent patent application by the present applicant there is described the alloy Zr-V-Fe which has been shown to be particularly useful and advantageous not only for the sorption of water and water vapour without release of hydrogen, but also in many other applications, for example when it is necessary to activate the getter alloy at relatively low temperatures.
In United Kingdom Pat. No. 1,370,558 there are described methods for the production of the ternary alloys Zr-Ti-Ni.
One of these methods consists in making holes in lumps of one component, in filling these holes with pieces of the other components and then performing a series of melting processes. The alloy thus obtained is then rolled into thin sheets, cut into small pieces and then again melted.
According to another method the alloy is produced in a bimetallic sheet into which is then diffused the third component.
Yet another method involves mixing the three components together and applying high pressures and temperatures up to 1800.degree. C. or more.
All these methods for the production of ternary alloys based on zirconium are therefore complex, require much time and are therefore costly and uneconomic.
The object of the present invention is therefore that of providing a more simple and economic method for the production of ternary non-evaporable getter alloys based on zirconium.
Another object of the invention is that of providing a method for the production of a non-evaporable ternary getter alloy of the type Zr-M.sub.1 -M.sub.2, in which M.sub.1 is a metal chosen from the group comprising vanadium and niobium, and in which M.sub.2 is a metal chosen from the group comprising iron and nickel.